The Lion King III  The Prince's Trials
by TerraWolfDog
Summary: When the current Matriarch of Shenzi's old clan hears that Kovu has gained power in the Pridelands, she remembers that he is in debt to her, for she saved his life as a cub. Once accepted into the pride, she begins to test Kovu's ability to lead.
1. The Matriarch's Departure

**Disclaimer: The Lion King and none of its character belong to me. **

**Hey, Alyssa/Terra here! Here's my first Lion King fanfic. I hope you guys like it! :) I'm new to ... So don't be hard on me! XD**

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A young female hyena sat in the shadows of the elephant graveyard. She rested contently in the skull of an elephant, as the sunlight beamed through small openings in its cranium. The most noticeable thing about her was her odd mane, which could easily be compared to a porcupine's spines. Dark bangs hung over her face, and beneath, lavender eyes glistened. She remained menacingly still, ominously silent. An older hyena with a more weak stature approached her from behind.

"Aerona... Is that you?" She asked. A demon-like smile creeped across the younger hyena's face as she let out a chuckle. It echoed and rumbled around in the hallow skull, growing in volume and multiplying, as if an army of hyenas were all around. The older hyena took a step back. That laugh could send chills down the spine of any animal.

"Yes. I don't look quite the same, do I Shenzi?" The hyena called Aerona finally replied, still not looking at the one who was behind her.

"No, of course not.. May I ask, where you mother is?" Shenzi gulped nervously. She could see that Aerona tensed.

"My mother... Oh yes. And _your_ sister."

"Please Aerona, I would like to know where Samanya is." Shenzi could already tell something must've happened to her. But she had to know.

"The Matriarch is dead." Aerona's voice was completely empty. Shenzi's eyes widened. How could this have happened? As if reading her mind, Aerona continued:

"She contracted an illness after you left, and our clan was too weak, for so many members had left to follow that pathetic lion. One of them being you, your mate, and your brother. Even one person could have made a difference, you know..." Shenzi held back the rage in her body. She wanted to attack Aerona right there, but she knew the now fully grown hyena could easily crush her skull effortlessly. "Who is the new Matriarch then?..." Shenzi said, mixed with a slight growl in her tone.

"You're looking at her."

Shenzi wasn't expecting anything like that. Aerona finally turned to her, and with a voice that could've scared satan out of hell, she spoke: "You betrayed us all. All to get some food. Steal, none the less. Those lions could give a shit about us. They want us dead. All they care about is themselves, we aren't apart of their sweet little circle of life. We have no place there. I don't even know what you three were thinking, stepping in there." Aerona's tone suddenly changed. A frightening grin spread across her face again. "Tell me what happened." Shenzi's fur bristled. Aerona wanted to hear the story of their failure. This hyena definitely knew how to tear someone apart, even is she wasn't crushing them between her jaws or clawing their eyes out.

"Well... Scar's nephew... we didn't kill him. We assummed he would die out there in the desert. Turns out we... were mistaken. He returned, once he was an adult, and took his place. Scar tried putting the blame on us. Once we got him corner, we decided he wasn't worth anything after all, like you said, a pathetic lion. We killed him. Me, Banzai and Ed. We were banished, and shortly after, Scar's mate and her followers were banished too. Zira."

The name caught Aerona's attention. "Zira?... Wait... Was she the mother of three cubs? Two males... a female?"

"Uh.. yes. Nuka, Vitani, and Kovu. Nuka was killed in some stupid war between the banished Outlanders and the Pridelanders, and Kovu fell in love with the King's daughter. Ridiculous right? Zira was killed as well, and all the outlanders returned to Pride Rock with a newfound realization that '_they are one_'. Kovu's the heir to the throne. Prince Kovu and Princess Kiara. I'd get rid of them all If I had the ability to."

"_Prince_, hmm?" A devilish smile was plastered on Aerona's face. She came up with a brilliant idea. She began to laugh. The skull rumbled and roared again, many hyenas began to gather around to see what was going on. Aerona turned to Shenzi. "Just for such information, you are welcomed back into the clan my dear aunt. You, your mate, and your brother. Let them know that I will be departing. I have some business to attend to, by myself. I pass this role back to you, dear aunt. I must walk on my own for some time." the young hyena leapt out of the skull and into the open, breathing in the fresh air around her. She took a scan of the hyenas that were surrounding her. "My decision has been made. Shenzi has returned. And I must go. Perhaps we will cross paths again in the future." And the young hyena darted off into the dust, her wicked laugher echoing behind her.


	2. Aerona's Humiliation

**Heya guys! Alyssa here! Only This chapter, then the next, and the confusion should be over. DX Its hard to introduce everyone. /3 Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am. In this chapter we learn why Aerona dislikes lions so much. FLASHBACK TIME! :D oh, by the way, sentences with dashes - - - like that, surrounding them, are thoughts. :)**

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Aerona ran in the direction of the Pridelands. "That cub... Will be king." She smiled. A memory flickered in her mind:

She was just about reaching adolescence. That day she remembered, it was brutally hot, and she wandered from her clan to find some water. She ended up around the outskirts of Outlands, and laid down. She had been walking for some time and the sun was beating down on her dark fur, making her drowsy. She was just about to doze off when she heard angry voices, and a younger voice screaming. Her ears pricked up, and she ran in the direction of the voices.

Three angered warthogs had surrounded a small outlander cub. His fur was a brown color, and his eyes were emerald green. They darted from side to side, unsure of what to do. In a distance, Aerona could see an older male cub, about her age, with a smile upon his face. He was behind some rocks. His eyes glimmered red like the sky above them. Aerona knew the older male was up to no good. She snarled and leapt in front of the warthogs.

"Huh?" they all stepped back. Aerona scanned them. They appeared to look alike, so she assumed they were siblings. There were 3 males. The strongest one stepped up.

"Excuse me miss. We were just in the middle of teaching this cub a lesson."

"You won't be teaching any cub a lesson. What could he have possibly done?" Aerona growled.

"You see over there?" a smaller one said, gesturing to a dead warthog a small distance away, "That was our sister. We caught this little runt eating our beloved sister." The young cub winced: "My... my brother... just brought it.." The strongest one grunted loudly. "You're a little too far from home, outlander. Your brother is nowhere to be found." The middle-sized one finally joined in the torment. "Whether you killed her, or your brother did, or your wicked mother did doesn't matter. You outlanders should be starving to death, feeding off mice and insects." The small one then snickered: "or better yet, they should be feeding off _you_. We'll prepare the meal for them."

As they began to advance on Aerona and Kovu, Aerona's heart began to pound rapidly. Her developing mane bristled, and her lips drew back to reveal her sharp fangs. She felt a rumbling in her throat build up to a loud screech, and she lunged at the strongest warthog, pushing him to the ground. He squealed and squirmed as her jaws clasped around his snout. She had never actually killed anything before. Food was always just brought to the clan, usually killed by another animal. But this was extremely different. She felt the adrenalin rush through her body and she snapped her jaws shut, crushing the warthog's skull.

She lifted her head and looked down at the dead male. Blood trickled down her lips, and she was panting heavily. Her lavender eyes darted towards the 2 other warthogs, who were trembling with both anger and trauma, and then the cub. Her lips mouthed the word: "run."

The cub ran, and she ran after him, making sure he wouldn't be hurt. They finally lost the 2 warthogs. The young cub ran into his mother, a lean, tan, lioness. He began to cry, holding onto her leg. Her red eyes stabbed Aerona. "Who... are you?" she asked in a very raspy voice. If Aerona had time to think, she wouldn't have given the lioness her name, but she had begun to panic.

"I'm A...Rona.. My name is Aerona."

"Aerona... Shenzi's niece?" the lioness asked again.

"Y..Yes." Aerona whimpered in response.

"She saved me." the small cub sniffed.

"...is that so?" the lioness continued. Aerona looked to the ground. The lioness was frightening.

"yes.. There were these warthogs..."

"warthogs... Where were you?" she snarled at her cub.

"I was just... Nuka caught me one and told me to eat it... then he was gone.." the cub cried.

"Nuka...!" she roared. Of course no one appeared, but she was enraged. She looked at Aerona and bared her fangs.

"Were you apart of this too, _mutt_?" Aerona's eyes widened in fear.

"No.. I just happened to see that-"

" Oh geeze. '_I just happened to see that..._' My POOR Kovu! To think your pesky brother would start involving HYENAS? He wants to be so much like our beloved Scar... Go get your sister. I need to have a talk with you both." As the cub did as his mother commanded, he turned to Aerona with a sorry look on his face. She tilted her head and half smiled sympathetically. The lioness then glared at her and let out a growl. Finally, the two cubs returned to her.

"Vitani... does this young lady seem familiar to you?" The female cub sat next to her mother and took a look at Aerona.

"I don't know any hyenas, mother."

The older lioness nodded. "What would a strange... _HYENA_ of all things... want to do with saving a cub? I mean, unless it wanted to eat them after..."

"But mom.. she saved me." The male, Kovu, whimpered.

"Come on Kovu, you don't have to be afraid of a mangy hyena. Don't make her scare you into saying such things. I'm here, see?" With that, the lioness smacked Aerona with her paw, knocking her to her side. She shut her eyes tightly. _-what on earth was this...?-_

The older lioness then continued to talk about how terrible and inferior hyenas were. She continued humiliating and smacking Aerona around. Aerona laid limp and shut her eyes. She would do nothing. It would all be over soon. The lioness explained that hyenas didn't help her poor Scar at all, and they were nothing but a bunch of useless mutts. She then gave Aerona a final slash across her face, leaving her with 3 open wounds. Blood ran down her muzzle and stained her fur a reddish brown.

Aerona heard a voice in the distance call: "Zira!"

It was another outlander. Zira... That must have been the name of this lioness who had just tormented and humiliated her. The lioness ran in the direction of the voice, their voices faded. Only the 2 cubs were next to Aerona's beaten up body. Kovu had begun to cry.

"...what's up kid?" Aerona weakly huffed.

"I'm sorry..." he whimpered.

"Our mother doesn't like hyenas." Vitani said somewhat softly. "I don't know much about them."

"That's okay." Aerona managed to say. In a distance, Zira called her two cubs over. "Vitani! Kovu!"

"I.. I promise i'll make it up to you if i ever see you again." Kovu sniffed. The two cubs quickly darted off.

Aerona's memory was interrupted by a shriek.

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**Kovu: That was a dumb ending.**

**Me: What? How was I supposed to end it?**

**Aerona: Not like that.**

**Me: *sigh...***

**Kovu: at least tell us who shrieked! **

**Me: No! That's for next chapter!... See y'all next time! **


	3. A Vanished Prince's Return

***insert amusing/interesting/funny Author's note here***

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"Ayee! Hyena!" Aerona looked down to see a meerkat scurrying away from her. She grinned.

"I'm only here to speak with your king." Aerona said as calmly as possible. A warthog appeared behind the meerkat. "Timon, it's only one hyena." he said. A hornbill flew down from a tree nearby, landing on the warthog's shoulder. "I'll get the King... You three stay right here."

Meanwhile at a distant Pride located in the Noblelands, southeast of the Pridelands, some ruckus was going on.

"OHH KOPAAA!" A high pitched voice squealed. Kopa sighed. "yes?"

"Kopa, I brought you antelope, your favorite!" a young lioness giggled.

"Thank you Shanti." He said, and began eating.

"are you excited to be king?" Kopa turned.

"I'm not going to be king, Shanti."

"But Kopaaaaaa. Rena loves you!" The lioness pleaded.

"I'm just a rogue, she deserves better." He said bluntly.

"Oh Kopa, don't be silly!"

Kopa didn't love Rena. Indeed, she was beautiful, perhaps not the brightest, but her father wanted her to be queen more than ever. Kopa couldn't help but think about his old childhood friend, Vitani. He wished they could reunite, but God only knows where she could be. And her mother tried killing him. He was old enough to leave this pride, wasn't he? But every lion here would become his enemy then... He was strong enough to return to his home though. Even if Zira was waiting there, ready to kill him. He never even got to see his baby sister grow up. He had to talk to the King about it.

He got up, completely forgetting that Shanti was there and went to the King, and Rena's father, Kokei. He was resting on top of a large pile of boulders, which was to the left of a small waterhole. Kopa climbed up and sat down next to Kokei, with a worried look on his face. "...Kopa, what's wrong?" the King asked.

"Your majesty... I request to... to... leave the pride." The king was shocked. Why would he want to leave? Kopa explained to him that he had a family in the Pridelands.

"You're Mufasa's grandson...?" Kokei asked. The king didn't know much about the Pridelands. Kopa nodded. "I just wish to reunite with my family." Sighing, he looked down. He felt guilty. He was supposed to be the future king of the Noblelands... but he just couldn't be. There was a bit of a pause, but Kokei finally came to a decision.

"I understand Kopa. You have a whole family out there. Give them my regards." He said smiling. Kopa's eyes welled up with tears as he embraced the older lion. He was so happy he understood. As Kopa left, Kokei's face faded to worry. He knew his daughter would not take this well. However, he also knew Kopa would never love her. He could just tell. This would help him find a new possible mate for his daughter. "The sooner, the better." the old lion sighed.

Kopa began to run, even as he got tired, he pushed on. He was too overjoyed. He couldn't wait to see his family again. A odd rock formation began to appear in the distance... Home.

Back at Pride Rock, Aerona was laying on the ground, her face flat on the dirt. "How long does this guy take to walk?" she growled. Timon jumped up. "Oh! Look! Here he is now!" Aerona's head turned, as did Pumbaa's. Kopa nearly bounded into them.

"Sim...ba?" Timon said, highly confused.

Pumbaa then spoke, "Timon... did Simba take a trip to the barber's and shrink slightly at the same time or...?"

"Pumbaa, that's not Simba. Hey kid, what do you think you're doing here? Are you with her?" The meerkat sneered, gesturing to Aerona. Aerona groaned and rolled her eyes, dropping her face flat into the dirt again.

"no.. Timon... It's me, Kopa." With that, Timon and Pumbaa looked at each other, looked back to Kopa, and let out a scream. "GHOOOSTS!"

The two ran in the opposite direction, tripping over Aerona, and landing in front of King Simba and Queen Nala, who had just arrived. Zazu was sitting on Simba's shoulder. Simba chuckled.

"Guys, what is..." At that moment, Simba noticed Kopa. Aerona finally got up and sat down nearby. Pumbaa and Timon also got up and sat next to Nala.

The father and son just stared at each other in shock. Finally, Kopa spoke. "Father..." He felt tears well up in his eyes. Simba couldn't believe it. Kopa was dead. Zira killed him... Had she not? This was much more than a miracle. He ran to his son and embraced him. Nala joined him.

"What happened to you?" she asked. Kopa explained how after Zira had attacked him, and he was badly wounded, according to King Kokei of the Noblelands. He doesn't remember much, but Kokei had told him they eventually brought him back to health. Kopa also told them how he now has a permanent limp in his front left leg from the attack, and that is all. He told them how he grew up in that Pride, and how Kokei had high hopes that he would become his daughter's mate. He told them how he thought of them every day, and that he knew this was his only home. The family continued talking happily. Aerona stared in confusion.

"that's it?" She hissed. Everyone turned. They forgot about her. Simba gave her a mean look. She ignored it.

"This male lion comes up to you saying he's your son... and that's it?"

"y'know, Miss Shady Hyena has a point." Timon added. She glared at him, and he hid behind Nala's leg.

"Wait, I'll prove it to you!... where's my sister?" Kopa asked. Zazu responded "I'll go fetch the young Princess," as he flew up into the sky.

"More waiting. Sweet." Aerona growled.

"Just who are you anyway?" Simba growled.

"I'm Aerona. I have a request."

"Go on." Nala said, stepping forward.

"I wish to be apart of your Kingdom." She said.

"With your attitude you won't be getting anywhere, hyena." Simba grumbled.

"well excuse me, your _highness_... Your little Prince owes me, actually."

"...Kovu?" Simba asked, confused.

"Kovu?... Kovu... is Kiara's mate?" Kopa asked, both shocked and excited.

"Yes, Kopa." Simba said, quite bluntly.

"Does that mean Vitani's here?" Kopa began to smile wide. He couldn't believe it. What on earth happened? It didn't even matter... Vitani was here! Vitani was home!

"You... definitely are my son." Simba said, noticing how excited Kopa was getting at the news. "Yes, Vitani is here." he added.

"Dad... I have to see her."

And right at that moment, Princess Kiara, Prince Kovu, and Vitani arrived. A huge burst of excitement erupted. The family was finally united. Vitani was so excited to see her best friend alive. Everyone was so happy, they once again, forgot about Aerona.

"Karrrrr!" That was the odd nickname Kopa gave Kiara when they were cubs. It was supposed to sound like a growl. "Kopa!..." The siblings embraced. Simba knew this was his son. The family was overjoyed. They couldn't wait to talk about everything that had happened since Kopa's disappearance. Finally, Simba returned his attention to Aerona.

"Kovu... This hyena asked for you." Kovu looked at her, as did everyone else.

"Aerona." she said in monotone, as if reading everyone's mind.

"Aerona... Areona!... Hello." He said, a bit awkwardly. It had been some time.

"Yeah, hi kiddo. I have a request. I'd like to join your kingdom." Kovu looked at her with an expression that read something along the lines of -_Oh, I remember now.-_ He turned to Simba and said: "She saved my life when I was a cub." Simba sighed. She was just a hyena. One with a bad attitude, but... a lone hyena. He didn't want to, but guessed it wouldn't hurt. "Sure, why not."

She grinned. "I promise I'll be a good help here."

"Right." Simba said, turning around to lead them back to Pride Rock.

"Geez, two carnivores in one day." Timon whined.

"Maybe we can introduce them to our slimy, yet satisfying diet?" Pumbaa suggested.

"No, buddy, look. Crunchy." Timon grumbled.

"Slimy!" grunted Pumbaa.

The two continued to argue, and Aerona trailed behind the group. She rolled her eyes at the nonsense, but was glad to finally have a real home, a new beginning. Sure, lions... but whatever. And she knew just how she would help. No more of this simplicity.


End file.
